I finished Welcome to the NHK (the anime) yesterday and really want to talk about it. I consumed it in a mere three days with little to no need of a push, and needless to say, I enjoyed it a lot, much more than I was expecting to. I was honestly terrified of watching this series for a while because so many of the topics were ones that trigger major anxiety for me (the future, responsibility, adulthood, self-worth) and given the reactions I'd seen describing the series as "depressing," I was bracing myself for regret. That I had watched a good, thoughtful series, but at the expense of my mental health.

Thankfully, that wasn't the case, and I'm, in fact, really glad I watched it more than anything. I actually found the series to be more of a comfort than a downer--not glossing over the harsh realities of life but not painting it as gloomy, hopeless existence, either. It simply is what it is, and often hinges on what our well-beings make of it. This reflects from each of the four main characters' psyches, as we see what they make of their lives and what actions they take (or don't) result in.